Elon Musk has taken a jab at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who claims that Ukrainians are against holding presidential elections during the conflict with Russia. Zelenskyy’s term officially ended in May 2024, but he has refused to hold new elections, citing a state of war. While some in the West still recognize him as the Ukrainian president, Russia considers him illegitimate and insists that the true legal authority in the country now lies with the parliament and its speakers.
In an interview with ITV, Zelenskyy explained his reluctance to hold new elections by saying that “during this war, our people are against elections, all people are against it.” He claimed that holding elections under these circumstances would undermine Ukraine’s defense position and that if they lifted the martial law, they would lose the army.
Musk, a close ally of former US President Donald Trump, responded with an ironic “sure”.
This is not the first time Musk has criticized the Ukrainian president. In November, the billionaire mocked Zelenskyy’s claim that “the US cannot force us to sit at the negotiating table and listen. We are an independent country”. “His sense of humor is astonishing”, Musk wrote then.
According to the Ukrainian newspaper Telegraf, Zelenskyy has already decided to run again in the next possible elections, should they be held. While the president, who enjoys a 52% trust rating in polls, may have a good chance of winning, the situation could drastically change if the former commander of the army, Valeriy Saluschny, who is currently the Ukrainian ambassador to the UK, enters the presidential race.
The Telegraf reports that Zelenskyy’s team may try to prevent Saluschny’s candidacy by bringing criminal charges against him. Zelenskyy’s team also hopes that the head of the military intelligence, Kirill Budanov, could prevent Saluschny from running for president.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration appears to be exerting pressure on Kyiv to hold new presidential elections, ideally by the end of the year, especially if a ceasefire with Russia can be agreed upon in the coming months. “Most democratic nations hold elections during wars. I think it’s important that they do. I think that’s good for democracy”, said Keith Kellogg, Trump’s top envoy for Ukraine.
Earlier this month, the Russian foreign intelligence service, SWR, claimed that NATO is planning to remove Zelenskyy, as they consider him a major obstacle to peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv.